Day 25

Wow. It's been over a week since I last blogged. I think it has a positive effect on my attitude, so I need to keep on it.

Today, I feel filled with the spirit. It's hard not to after hearing Natalie Grant's "I Will Not Be Moved" and Aaron Shust's "My Savior, My God"

My Savior loves.
My Savior lives.
My Savior's always there for me.

My God, He is.
My God, He was.
My God, He's always gonna be.

...and not feel inspired by our Savior's omnipresence? Likewise, how can you listen to Natalie's...

I will stumble,
I will fall down,
But I will not be moved!
I will make mistakes,
I will face heartache,
But I will not be moved!

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
I will not be moved!

...and not feel the strength of the Lord working through each of us? God works through radio stations to spread His word to many people, but sometimes it feels like He puts it there just for me, and that's a beautiful thing.

Within a 20 minute span, Adam answered a few questions I had on God's judgement, hell, the church's acceptance (or lack of) of homosexuality, evangelizing and the definition of faith. That was a very educational and spiritual 20 minutes. Thank you, Jesus.

We went camping last weekend and had a great time. We swam, played catch, took bike rides and basically relaxed. We'll probably go again this summer.

Noah is learning words on a rapid basis now. Colton is "GoBO" and my favorite is "awethumb" for awesome. He can tell you what comes after two ("Threeeeeee") and can show you where is eyes, nose and feet are. Good times.

Colton has won a couple games and lost a couple games since my last blog. There's a good chance he'll be on a travelling league this summer. It sound like fun, and he's was excited to learn that one of his current coaches is the coach of that team and told me that if Colton wanted on the team, he'll be on it. They play on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so I'm worried it may interfere with church. One way or the other, God will place us in the right path. Again, thank you, Jesus.

It's sometimes cute to see Gabrielle's shyness. A boy on the bus wants to hold her stuff for her for some reason and wanted to know her name. She wouldn't tell him, but Colton, probably trying to be friendly and possibly trying to irritate his sister at the same time, told the kid "Gabrielle" as they got off the bus. She says he's a nice kid, so it's interesting to see that her overall sweetness is having an effect on someone.

Speaking of God, His children and my children, In My Arms by Plumb is another great song.

Praise Jesus.

Conviction: Day 24

I was reminded of a couple things when I was instictively comparing Ravi Zacharias and Beth Moore today. One was a poem called Like...ya know, a poem about speaking with/without conviction. It's a pretty funny poem, because it's so true, but it ends with the speaker sincerely imploring a message:

I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you, I challenge you:
To speak with conviction.
To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it. Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker,
it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.
You have to speak with it, too.

Both speakers do speak with conviction, but Beth does it with a little more passion, but less confidence. Many times she's not sure if she's getting her message across and a couple times she mentions that she's not a very good teacher. This is an endearing aspect of her teaching and it adds a little compassionate twist to what could be a rather stoic lesson.

Ravi seems to speak with a little more conviction, but more bluntness. While listening to Ravi, a couple small parts of his sermon made me think of Requiem of a Dream. You can watch it through this link on Hulu.com in its' entirety, but be forewarned it was a very depressing movie. It revolves around a man in his twenties, the man's girlfriend, his best friend, and his mom. The movie starts out fine and things seem to be getting better for all involved. Unfortunately for the characters, the movie hits a spike and then proceeds down a steep, steep slope to entirely different, and exceedingly low depths for all of them which is where the movie mercilessly ends.

The reason I thought of the movie was because of a couple of examples Ravi used to get his point across. One true story concerned a loving, but very poor new mom, a newborn baby, and a dog that had not eaten in 10 days. He went on to discuss the why's and how's of the world that caused this to happen to this woman. Another story concerned a very caring and Christian father who accidentally falls 50 feet to his death while his family watched. He then went on to read a very loving letter from the man's 12 year old son. These stories shake you a bit more than Pastor Don's or Beth Moore's stories do, but they do the reverse of Requiem for a Dream, in that they show the good to come out of the very bad, rather than show what kind of bad things happen to good people.

Another part of his sermon reminded me of my kids, because many times children are looking for praise. Ravi had no idea what t-ball was when he went to first watch his son's games, but noticed that everytime his son hit the ball and went to first base, he looked for Ravi to make sure his dad had seen it. He goes on to speak of his son's near worship of him at that age and how we need to worship our Father. After telling his congregation that "worship is coextensive with life", he recited a quote from another preacher that emphasized what he said:

Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his Holiness, nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by His beauty, opening of the heart to His love and submission of will to His purpose. All of this gathered up in adoration is the greatest expression of which we are capable.

The first sentence is the most profound definition of worship I have ever heard. The second sentence is one of the most beautiful sentences ever spoken and the third sentence has to be said with conviction, because without proper conviction, it could be taken as hyperbole. It is not hyperbole at all and I believe it to be genuine.

Thank you, God, for allowing us to be able to express our love for You in so many ways, and letting this great expression of love become a healing process for our heart, mind and soul.

Amen

Day 23

When I got home today, Colton told me he had already finished the book he had bought a couple of days ago. He was surprised when I told him I had finished mine as well. As I said earlier, I was looking for a book with some sort of Christian theme to it, but instead I found "Water for Elephants" which had been given a great review by a good friend. While reading it, I realized how adult this book was and how it seemed not very near to a Christian book at all (not that I expected to be). It had murder, infidelity, several instances of sexual overtones, and an abundance of overindulgence of alcohol (it was mostly set in 1931, during prohibition). It was a very good book, nonetheless. I read the author's interview at the end of the book, only to find out that it had borrowed generously from the Bible. The main character's name was Jacob and the story in the book somehow relates to Jacob's story in the Bible. There were other references that I did not recognize either, that the author thought it would be a neat idea for the people would notice the correlations. Now I am very interested to find out these correlations. After reading the scripture the book relates to, I'd like to read the book again. For now, I let a friend borrow it.

Kim came and sat next to me while I watch the Pistons play. We don't do that often enough. We don't watch much tv for the most part in the first place and when we do, we don't have the same interests. I like sports and G4. She likes Grey's Anatomy (I do too, but not as much), Desperate Housewives (it has its' moments) and the food channel. It was nice while it lasted though.

Colton's second game: Day 22

After seeing Colton strike out his first batter last Saturday, go 1-2-3 in the first inning and make some great defensive plays as well, I didn't think it could get much better. Well, it did. He walked a few and hit a batter, but he only pitched two innings and all 6 of the outs were strikeouts. I couldn't have imagined that. Defensively, he played his position well and caught a wicked line drive he had to jump to catch. He's better than expected and takes it all in stride.

Colton asked if the fast I did a few weeks ago stood for something, as in was it a "F.A.S.T." and did it actually mean something else. I told him no, and tried to explain suffering to him as best I could, how Jesus suffered on the cross to die for our sins, and what the fast meant to me. He asked me if now that we prayed before we went to bed, would we go to heaven now. Great question, but I told him no. I told him it's very important as Pastor Bob said last week, but we need to believe He is our Lord and Savior and He is in our hearts and we try to live according to what He has layed out in the Bible for us. He said he would do anything to get into Heaven. Later on that night, when we prayed, he mentioned how he hoped that Jesus was in the hearts of "everyone in the house" and He would touch the hearts of everyone that needed Him. I can tend to ramble on when answering the kids' questions once in a while, and I think they may occasionally tune me out, so it was very heartening to see that he was listening, seemed to understand, and was praying for it to be true. Gabrielle does the same thing. If mom or I mention something in our prayers, many times she will remember it and pray about it the next night. She seems to be trying so hard to pray with the second smallest vocabulary in the house, but she always eventually gets out what she's trying to say. They are two very sweet children.

It is impossible to write about Kim and the kids and not realize how very blessed I am. Thank you again, Lord, for allowing me to walk down this blessed road. There will be bumps, but there will be wonderful things I still have yet to experience. I'm not sure how high I'm setting the bar for myself and Dennis and Jennifer, and I don't want to put them on the spot, but the feeling I've had for the past two months has not gone away. I still feel they either have something very important to tell me or talking with them will open up my eyes to a revelation I have not yet realized. No pressure :)

Thank you, Jesus and please bless us all.

Colton's First Game and Elephants Too (Day 20)

I missed Day 20. I had to work in the morning, but right after work, Colton had a game at 11:00. On defense, Cody made a nice throw to Colton at 3rd base, and Colton tagged the kid out. That brought out a rousing smattering of applause from the fairly large crowd. When he pitched in the 3rd inning, he struck out the first batter he faced. The next batter hit the ball into the ground which made a large hop. Colton caught the hop and threw the kid out at first. The next batter hit a liner to first. Just like that, the inning was over. The next inning, he had a bit more trouble, but only let in one or two runs. It was fun to watch the kids do well and win the game 14-8.

Later that night, Gabrielle needed a gift for birthday party she was going to on Sunday afternoon, so at around 8:00 at night, we all made a trip to Meijer. I let the kids pick out something to buy and Colton picked out the movie Zathura and a book. Gabrielle picked out a Bratz doll, but once she saw Colton's book, she wanted one instead. That's great. Let them pick out something, and they choose something to read. I picked out a book too. I was looking for something Christian related, but instead, a lone copy of "Water for Elephants" sat on top of another totally unrelated book. Nick, the salesman I send out our gages to at work, highly recommended this book. I picked it up and it's very good so far.

Children and Chocolate Shakes: Day 21

21 days=3 weeks :)

I've gone farther in my blog than I though I would. Jennifer's comment gave it a kick start a few days ago when I had written a small post after a fun night and then didn't feel like writing much the next day. I ended up writing quite a bit that night. As I've noticed before some days it seems more like a online diary than a positive oriented experiment/blog. I prayed with the kids separately tonight, and I was moved to pray for the little things in this world that make us happy. Like children and chocolate shakes. I suppose if I only wrote about positive moments throughout my day instead of paragraphs detailing them, today's blog would look like this:

Getting up early

Seeing the kids setting next to each other quietly watching a movie

Taking a shower

Getting ready for church

Waking up Kim with a kiss.

Waking Noah up out of his slumber

Hearing him say "Hi, Dad"

Hearing him say "Derbie" as he points to the "birdie"

Getting him ready for church

Noticing how pretty Kim looks as she gets ready

Noticing the rain

Leaving for church "early"

Hearing some good Christian music on the way to church, inluding "Opposite Way" as we pull in.

Getting a close parking spot

Having one of the deacons hold the door open for us on a cold morning.

Taking Noah to the nursery and watching him wave bye

Seeing Dennis and Jennifer with smiles on their faces

Dennis cracking a joke about how he didn't know if they be able to listen to the sermon today.

Praying

Listening to Scott speak.

Singing and listening to the music.

Praying again

Watching Pastor Don's funny skit

Listening to his sermon on sin

Shaking his hand on the way out

Picking up the kids from their rooms

Talking to the Boomers on the way out of church

Having Kim notice that during the last couple of sermons, she has noticed him speak on the exact things I had talked with her about that week (I'd noticed that too)

Gabrielle having Ashley over

Watching the kids play

Playing with the kids

Having Emily and Jiselle over

Walking to the chocolate milk store with all of them

Eating a candy bar

Winning an entry into a big tournament

Making club sandwiches

Being able to do the right thing and apologize to Kim for not grabbing Noah as cried and tugged on her as she left

Watching Noah fall asleep as I fed him.

Making chocolate shakes for the kids

Winning $569 in that tournament

Watching Zathura with the kids

Having Gabrielle come sit on my lap for most of the movie

Listening to their prayers.

Having them listen to mine.

A late-night bowl of cereal.

Writing my blog

Getting a good-night kiss from Kim

Reading a good book.

Praying again.



I'm sure I may have missed some things, but that looks like a pretty good day. Thank you, Lord.

Thanks...?Day 19

I noticed Jennifer left me a comment a couple of days ago. It was very sweet and thank you, Jen, for leaving it. While we've only had one discussion involving my new found faith, her and Dennis played an integral part in getting me to where I am and yet it is she who it thanking me. While I would normally take those sincere words and add them to the experience I've had so far, she ended up being the second person to say that within a couple of days. Jim stopped me as I walked past his office and thanked me for helping him to become stronger in his faith. Our discussions have affected both of us. Just a couple weeks ago, I got an e-mail from Adam thanking me for allowing him to be challenged by my questions which, in turn, made him think of things he had not thought of in some time. I didn't expect these "thanks" at all. I felt like I was getting the most out my new relationship with God, but the Holy Spirit is working through all of us for each other. We are very blessed.

I listened to Beth Moore again today as she went over the rest of Romans 7 and I listened as she began her discussion on Romans 8. Romans 7 ends with:

So then, I myself in my mine am a slave to God's law but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Romans 8 begins with:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

She spend quite a while on this verse and it really spoke to me. She said she had learned in her study that the original Greek translation for condemnation was even stronger than it appears in English. No condemnation means none whatsoever. At all. She said if we have our faith in Him, we need to believe he will not condemn us for what may have happened in the past. She believes not enough people understand this. She helped us understand why by relating it to seeing her new grandson on a 3-D ultrasound. She watched him do many things within the 15 minutes she was able to watch him, and realized how much she loved him. She then realized that this new baby had done nothing deserve this love except by existing and being one her (grand)children. She believes God is the same way and does not want to condemn any of His children that have Him in their heart. I believe this too.

Addiction: Day 18

I asked Jennifer the name of the woman she liked to listen to at Awana's last night and she told me Beth Moore. I looked her up on oneplace.com and there were many of her Living Proof ministries on there. She had started a bible study on Romans last year and oneplace had all of them since the beginning of this year. I can see why she would be so well liked and she really made me think. One thing she said was that just because we have an intuition to do something, it doesn't mean it's from God. I cannot explain it as well as she did, but it was a thought-provoking sermon. I should start taking notes because she is a very inspiring woman.

I had to ask Adam a question later on after talking to Jim, a Catholic and our plant superintendent tried to answer a question I had a few days ago. I can't remember the context of the discussion, but I had asked how was Jesus's suffering worse than the others. I understand that now, but he said his reason had more to do with why it was so special other than the obvious reason. His answer of "He had a choice and he could've put a stop to it" seemed to clash with what I thought he was going to say: that it was preordained. If Jesus is God and He preordained it to happen, how can we say he had a choice? If we honestly believe that, then we must believe he could've made it all go away. In that case, the preordination would've been stopped and God would've been wrong and that's impossible. Jim had no good answer to this paradox, but Adam just added three words to make it more profound: But He didn't. He could've stopped it at any time, but He wanted to die for our sins so He didn't. Adam said he was 100% man, so he had freedom of choice, but he was 100% God and wasn't about to give in to the flesh and turn his back on us. Thank you, Lord.

During our conversation, he brought up Romans chapter 7. Coincidentally, that was the exact chapter I was going over with Beth Moore before I stopped by his office. I've printed it out, because Adam and I believe God may be trying to tell me something. I've read it a few times and I think it may have something to do with my walk with God. I've been giving much thought to the fact that although I feel God working in my life and although I believe more than ever than Jesus is my Lord and Savior and has entered my heart and although I have learned so much in such a short amount of time (and still a lifetimes worth to still learn) that I am not living a Godly life. What do I have to do to live a more Godly life? What must I change in my life? Verse 15 really spoke to me:

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do.

That is probably true in so many ways. If I have more self-control over my life, then I may quit doing things I actually hate to do (getting angry, being envious) and possibly my eyes will be opened even more.

Beth also talked about addiction. It has such a negative connotation attached to it, but she was saying to understand that even though we may blame other people or other things for each of our addictions, it is still us that is sinning. It is not the other person or some inanimate object causing us to sin. It is us. She says we must be addicted to God.

Adam said he had a better word: craving. I liked it better too. We must crave him all the time. I hope it's a craving that will never be satisfied. There is so much to learn and so many ways to get closer to God. Adam also brought up "the sword". Beth had also brought this up, as had one of the last speakers last night. I asked him what this was, and he said it was God's word. He said we must keep his word in our hearts to protect us in difficult situations. I told Kim almost two months ago that my talk with Adam was life-changing, but I don't think I realized on what level and I still don't. I also told Kim that I'd be upset if I quit feeling "inspired" to write any more. Judging by yesterday's post, I was less than inspired and it is upsetting. I should probably start praying first. Reading more of God's word and keeping as much of it in my heart as possible should help too.


I feel inspired to pray now. I'll try typing it and see what comes out...

Dear God,

Thank you for bringing so many beautiful people into my life. Bless these people for I don't think they realize how wonderful they really are and how much they mean to me. Thank you for Kim and the kids. Thank you for my family and Kim's family. Thank you for bringing Adam into my life and giving him the strength and knowledge to answer my questions. Thank you for the tenderness in Jennifer's voice and the conviction in Dennis's. Thank you for opening my eyes and allowing me to see Your light.

Please help me overcome my addictions and allow me to crave You every second of every minute of every day.

There are many people in this world that need your love and your strength and your mercy and I pray that you touch their hearts as only you can do.

Continue to show me what I must do to walk in the path that you have planned for me. I thank you for the scripture to read and the inspiration to pray and all the love in my life.

In Jesus's name I pray,

Amen.

Awana Awards: Day 17

It was Awana Awards night tonight at the church and although Noah made it a little hectic at times, a good time was had by all.

Busy, Busy, Busy: Days 14, 15, and 16

I've been keeping busy the last few days and the next few are no different. Fortunately for me and my blog, most of it has been very positive.

Day 14

On Sunday, we went to church where Pastor Bob helped us celebrate Mother's Day. I enjoy church so much because there are many things I emotionally connect with, one of them being when we sing or especially when the women sing on stage. They have such beautiful voices and you can tell they are not just singing the Lord's praises just because we're at church and that's what they're supposed to do. They are singing to Him. It's a wonderful thing. We sang the mom's favorite songs and when we sing the songs that have different parts for the women and the men, I like to just stop and listen once in a while. I'm sure not everyone, including myself, have good singing voices, but together it's an awesome experience.

After church we went to my mom and dad's, had some taco salad and dad helped the kids practice their golf swings. They both seem to enjoy it and we'll be going out to the range in a few days.

After that, we went to Kim's mom and dad's, had more salad, roast beef and potatoes. It's always fun being around Kim's family. The chatter is friendly, the kids have fun and there's usually food :).

I've been wanting to talk to Dennis and Jennifer about spiritual guidance since the first day I asked Adam about getting to know God better a few months ago. Dennis was washing dishes with Kim, and Jennifer was feeding the baby, but since she was alone, I asked her if I, or Kim and I, would be able to get spiritual guidance from her and Dennis. She said we would, and Dennis would be especially good at that. I was happy with that answer and began to walk away so she could have a little bit of privacy, but she still had something to say. I listened and walked away again, but she still wasn't done. In doing so, she made me very glad I asked. She called Dennis over and we spoke for some time. I'm hoping we can have them over soon.

Day 15

Immediately after work, we had to go to Colton's practice where his team was going to scrimmage with another. He didn't get to pitch, but he had some good at-bats and played well in the field. We went home and I played some poker for a bit. As I was sitting in the chair, Kim came and gave me a kiss. Not just any kiss, either. It was a fairly big kiss, followed by a couple smaller ones and then a final one that lasted about a second and a half long than the middle two. She said "Love you." and walked away. I'm so lucky. Thank you, Lord.

I won the tournament, by the way, due in no small part to The Kiss.

Day 16

We had our bi-annual audit at work and it went well. The auditor came into the lab, which they hadn't done last time, and asked me some questions. We're asked not to give more information then asked, so this was on my mind the whole time, and Dick said I answered his questions "perfectly". I got to leave a bit earlier than normal, where I had to get ready for the Piston game.

The Piston game was a very good time. Orlando kept it close for most of the game, but the Pistons pulled it out in the end. Colton always make these games fun. He always tries his hardest to have a good time. When the crowd gets really loud, he likes to scream at the top of his lungs. When they were introducing Orlando, he probably had the loudest "BOOOOO" in our section if not the arena. Unfortunately for him, it takes a lot out of him, and by the end of the game, he's pretty worn out. I pulled him up during one part late in the game where everyone was standing up. This pulled him out of his little funk, and he pulled me up the next time. We talked most of the way home, and I was surprised he didn't fall asleep. He asked if he could "Pleeeeease" read his book when we got home. Even though I knew it'd be very late when we got home, I hate to tell him no when he's asking to read. If it was T.V. or video games, that's one thing, but if your kid asks you if he can read, how can you say no :)?

Happy Birthday, Debbie: Day 13

Debbie Wood would've been 40 years old on Saturday, so Woody threw a party in her memory. It was a good time and I'm glad we made it out. Kim said Woody had asked us to stop at the cemetery and see her when we were leaving. There were a couple of hanging baskets, balloons, lights, plants and plenty of roses on the grave. It's good to know she's in a better place, or at least some day will be. I haven't figured that one out yet. I asked the kids if she was in a better place now, and Gabrielle and Colton both replied quickly with a resounding "Yes."

As we were leaving a mother and her young son (maybe 7 or 8), showed up to pay their respects to who I assume was her husband and his dad. He let go of the blue balloon he had almost as soon as they got to his grave and they both watched it blow away. You can't help but feel for both of them.

This post may sound negative, but death isn't all bad. God has a plan for all of us and when I think of Debbie, I only remember the good times. Sure, she'd yell at Woody once in a while, but he would try her patience just a little too much. She was always so sweet to the rest of us. I'm glad I hugged her the last time she came over.

She was a good person and I miss her. Thank you, Lord, for putting people like her on this earth even if for a shorter time than most. We love you, Debbie.

Day 12

I'm slacking. I missed another day. I went from work, to Colton's practice (which lasted almost two and a half hours) and then went to bed within an hour of getting home. I had to get up early on Saturday. So anyway, let me think...

As always, I enjoy Colton's practices. He really enjoyed the part of the practice they had never done before. Nate had him and the other third baseman, Cody, diving for the ball. He missed it more times than he got it, but I think it helped him get ready for what might be coming. He slid into more bases he had ever slid into before. He likes to slide as much as possible, but these times it was out of necessity and he was able to avoid the tag each time. Good times.

After stopping by Taco Bell, we went home where Gabrielle had a friend over spending the night. She's in heaven with girlfriends over. She enjoys doing all the girl stuff she doesn't get to do when her friends aren't there. Another friend showed up later and Colton had a friend for the night as well, so Kim certainly has her hands full.

Noah didn't run up to me saying "Dad!" today. He was too busy playing with his firetruck. That was good to see. It seems like they learn by leaps and bounds, and because I know that Colton and Gabrielle are still surprising me quite often with their intelligence or kindness, I will have the pleasure of seeing the learning process first hand for many more years. Noah's cackle made me laugh later on. For what seemed like no reason whatsoever, he ran by me as I sat in the chair, with an odd laugh I don't hear from him very often. I think he was just trying to go play with the other kids, but Kim and I shared a look at each other, then started laughing. :D

Dennis and Jennifer want their computer back. I liked having the extra one there for the kids, but they're not using it much anyway. Kim said Dennis said I'd be mad, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. Even though it just needed to be blown out with some compressed air, I'm glad they'll be getting some more use out of it. I'm just happy I could help.

I'm still surprised at the effect that prayer vigil had on my life. I think of God very often now as far as praising Him for all the good He has done in my life. There are bound to be rough roads ahead, but with Him in my heart and Kim and the kids by my side, I feel we can make it through anything.

Praise God.

Day 11

Noah is learning words daily. He can say "Emily" very clearly and now says "Coco" instead of "Gabby" when asked to say Colton. He's getting cuter by the day as well. It's great to have a wonderful wife and three healthy children. I pray that God continues to bless my life. Thank you, Lord.

Amen

Day 10

I missed a day. Let me pause while I think about yesterday...

Yesterday was a good day. I've never been a person who calls-in to work, but I've always been the type to show up a little late or right on time. I've been trying to get in a little early, and so far this week, I've been able to. I've prayed on this and I think it has helped.

Once I got to work, I got some things accomplished for our big audit next week. After work, I met Kim at Arby's. I've been trying to cut fast food out of my diet, so I didn't order anything, but ended up eating a part of Noah's sandwich he didn't want. Colton and I went to baseball practice, got there early and as always we had a good time, although he will not be wearing shorts again to a practice or game. While diving for a ball at third base, he scraped his leg and it bled pretty good. He didn't quit playing, but kept rubbing it for a while and by the end of practice, that scratch looked like a bloody mess. The batting cage was a new experience for him and he hit very few balls cleanly. With enough practice, he'll get his timing down.

After more than two hours there, we went home and Kim and Gabrielle got home soon after. Gabrielle was proud to show me the crown that she got to put on her Awana vest as well as the small jewel that went inside it. She says they can use the same book she's using next year. Again, it's good to see she has taken a liking to Awana.

The Pistons lost, which means Colton and I will be able to see game 5 at The Palace. I hope the Pistons win game four so game 5 will have that much more on the line.

The Tigers won in dramatic fashion. Winning 4-0 and then later 8-4, they ended up being behind 9-8 in the bottom of the ninth against one of the best closers in the game. After an infield single, an error, an RBI ground out by Granderson and finally a 2-out game-winning hit by Polanco, they won the game 10-9. I turned off the t.v. almost right away and went to bed, forgetting about my blog.

This is almost beginning to feel like an odd sort of diary. I'm pretty sure no one is reading it, and I kind of like it that way. It's also a small test of my discipline. I'm trying to see how long I can keep it up. I am almost at my goal of 2 weeks and 1 day. Most of all, it is a constant test to make sure I look for the positive things in life rather than concentrating on the negative. Just because of this last fact alone, I'm getting some enjoyment out of it.

Praise God.

Day 9

Hmmm. This is harder than I thought it would be. Some days just don't seem very positive. I suppose the best part of the day came from the realization that we need to pay a little more individual attention to each one of the kids. They know we love them and care for them, but they have to know it shouldn't take a monumental effort to get the attention they need and deserve. Amen.

Smiles everywhere: Day 8

I had a couple good conversations with Jim and Adam today. I mostly came up with my questions and they answered the best they could.

When I got home, I was home barely long enough to say hi to everyone and then had to take Colton to baseball practice. Not only is it fun to see Colton having a good time out there, but everyone looks like they're having a good time. The kids are getting better at working as a team, and all the Dads are either helping out the kids, helping out their sons, chatting or joking around. It looks we have a good bunch of kids and a good bunch of dads, so it's a very good atmosphere to be around. I really enjoy it.

Later on, after helping Kim regain some chips in an online poker game (which she eventually won), and eating a great steak, some tots and some leftover pasta, I went to pick Gabrielle up from her friend's house. We went to the gas station to put some gas in Kim's car and I let Gabrielle pick up some candy. When I got home, Noah was covered in yogurt and then wanted to hit the hay. We cleaned him up, put him to bed, and I then walked from room to room watching the Pistons take down Orlando in one room and then watching Colton rock out on the Wii in the other.

The kids went to bed, and I got upstairs right after they had just said their prayers. Since I've been asking them to do that, if I'm home we do it together. I asked them to come get me next time, and Colton was kind enough to say "I'll say one with you, Dad". We said a prayer and then he went to bed.

Some days it's tough to come up with something positive, but today was a feel-good day. Thank you, Lord.

Day 7

The fast is over. The first thing I ate was the bread at the communion at church. The sermon was very interesting and thought provoking. The first actual meal was a burger at Chili's. I learned a lot during the fast, but i got frustrated soon after it was over. After getting over that, eating and going to the mall, I got into a long, drawn out argument with Kim (I usually draw them out), and that sort of ruins a day. Although there were positive moments during the day, that takes the edge off of most of them. One that really sticks out is Gabrielle grabbing my hand in the parking lot as we walked. I wish she could stay 6 a little longer, but she'll be 7 in a month. They grow up so fast.

Cinco De Mayo!: Day 6

...well, not quite, but some friends of ours had a Cinco De Mayo party tonight. It's always fun to be among friends and meet some new ones. Noah had fun with the balloons, enjoyed the cake, and got to kiss a girl. Colton and I did some wrestling, he played with a new friend named Clay, and played video games with two other new friends. Gabrielle played with Antonia much of the time and didn't want to leave. Kim and I did some chatting and had a good time.

The party brought with it the biggest temptation as far as my fast is concerned. I love their cooking and made sure I made a big plate before I left. Without God's help, I wouldn't have made it through the night. It's definitely been an interesting experience and I've enjoyed it in some ways , but not enjoyed it in others. I'll be glad when it's over tomorrow, but it's gotten me in a different frame of mind as far as some other things are concerned. The extra prayer and reading has helped me understand things, but has brought about more questions as well and that was to be expected. I can only hope to understand more as the days go on even it means more questions to be asked. I pray the proper people are in my path to answer them. God Bless.

Positively (Day 5) Hungry (Day 2)

As of right now, I've gone a little over 37 hours with no food. I think it's quite an accomplishment that I've only been able to do with help from God. It has helped my confidence that I can push myself to overcome physical and mental obstacles for almost any task. It has also helped me become at least a little more closer to God through reading and prayer.
Prayer is always good and is something I do on a daily basis now. Pastor Don mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we need to turn to it first before anything. I've been able to do that a few times and it definitely helps with other emotions such as anger and envy. It helps me remember God has a plan for me, my immediate family, my extended family, my friends and anyone else that believes that Jesus is our Lord and savior.

Hunger: Day 4

I'm excited because today I'm trying something new. I'm fasting. This evolved from the fact I had no lunch and no money at work today. I read up on why people fast and it sounded like something I'd like to give a try. It involves more prayer than usual and more reading of the scripture than normal. It also involves being able to overcome physical and mental hurdles. So far, both hurdles have been slight. As of right now, I've only had a piece of cake at 9:30 this morning (almost 12 hours ago). The fast officially started at 12:00 pm when I finished up some work and prayed for a bit over 20 minutes. God willing, if I make it to my goal of three days, it will end immediately after church on Sunday.

Another positive that should be a part of every day is playing with the kids. After we got home from Applebee's (that was difficult watching Kim eat a grilled cheese BLT. I'm salivating right now just thinking about it), I helped them clean up their rooms, the we all went outside and played catch for a while. Then we made our short trek to Moore's Market (the chocolate milk store) and the kids got some gum and a popsicle. Gabrielle was able to peddle her bike without sitting down and Colton pulled Noah in Noah's wagon. Life is good.